Automatic yarn-package winding machine



May 8, 1962 s. FURsT AUTOMATIC YARN-PACKAGE WINDING MACHINE Filed March10, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet l May 8, 1962 s. FURST AUTOMATIC YARN-PACKAGEWINDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 10, 1959 FIG.2

May 8, 1962 s. FURST 3,033,478

AUTOMATIC YARN-PACKAGE WINDING MACHINE Filed March 10, 1959 sSheets-Sheet :5

United States Patent 3,033,478 AUTOMATIC YARN -PACKAGE WINDING MACHINEStefan Fiirst, Monchen-Gladbach, Germany, assignor to Walter Reiners,Monchen-Gladbach, Germany Filed Mar. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 798,406 Claimspriority, application Germany Mar. 10, 1958 22 Claims. (Cl. 242-356) Myinvention relates to winding machines for rewinding relatively smallpackages of yarn, such as spinning cops, into larger packages of adesired type and size, such as cross-wound coils also called cheeses. Ina more particular aspect, my invention concerns yarn-winding machinesthat comprise a multiplicity of individually operable winding stationswhich are provided with feeder means for dispensing yarn-supply coils tothe stations, and with a mobile servicing unit or tender thatperiodically travels along a group of stations and automaticallyperforms such servicing operations as may be needed in any individualstation for returning it to operative condition after occurrence offault or stoppage.

Such fault or stoppag in an individual winding station, to be eliminatedby automatic operation of the servicing unit, may come about because ofyarn breakage or because the spinning cop or other supply coil becomes(16-1 pleted and must be exchanged for a new yarn supplying coil. In anysuch case, a yarn guard, consisting of a sensitive feeler biased intoengagement with the normally taut yarn, will deflect in response toabsence of the yarn; and the deflecting motion is utilized forcontrolling the mobile servicing unit, when it next approaches thedisturbed winding station, to' automatically eliminate the stoppageeither by tying the broken yarn ends together, or by effecting anexchange of the depleted supply coil before joining its yarn with thatof the take-up spool.

In known multi-station machines of the above-mentioned type, the newsupply coils are conveyed to the individual winding stations on the sameside of the machine where the travelling servicing unit acts upon thewinding stations and where the machine must be supervised or serviced bythe attending personnel. This is an impediment to the activities to bemanually performed by the personnel who from time to time may have toremove the finished yarn packages and insert new spool cores for the newpackages to be wound. Furthermore, the device for feeding new supplycoils to the winding stations, regardless of whether the feeder deviceis a chute, coil magazine or endless belt, occupies space at the samelocation where the mobile servicing unit must be able to travel in orderto eliminate any disturbances in the above-described manner. Thisresults in an intricate construction and makes access to the interiorcomponents of such a machine rather difficult.

It is an object of my invention to minimize or virtually eliminate thesedifficulties.

Another object of my invention is to improve the design and economy ofthe automatic control devices that come into play whenever an individualwinding station requires one or more servicing operations to eliminate ayarn fault or other cause of stoppage. The latter object will be furtherexplained presently.

There are known winding machines in which a central control device, inresponse to the action of sensing or checking members, performs a numberof servicing activ-v ities in a predetermined sequence, whenever calledupon to operate. The entire servicing program, comprising severaldifferent servicing activities, will always run olf regardless ofwhether each particular servicing activity has become necessary and isbeing utilized at a time. However, some of the servicing activitiesavailable in the "ice machine are needed more often than others. Forexample, the yarn-end knotting device must operate more often inresponse to yarn breakage than the device for replenishing a depletedyarn supply coil is called upon to act. Thus, when using good qualityyarns, it may be necessary to eliminate yarn breakage by a knottingoperation about once for each third supply coil, in addition to thenormal tying operations resulting from a supply-coil exchange. But thisratio is more unfavorable with low-quality yarns which may involve manymore breakages. The frequency at which the take-up spool is completelyfilled and must be exchanged for an empty spool core is still smallerthan that of the supply-coil exchanging operations. For example, whenlarge yarn packages such as cheeses are being wound, approximately tenspinning cops may be consumed before it becomes necessary to remove thecompleted yarn package. It is apparent therefore, that automatic controlmeans which, each time they are called upon to operate, go through acomplete cycle of all available servicing actions, although only one ofthem may be utilized at a time, involve undesirable waste of time. Inmulti-station winding machines with a traveling servicing unit, suchlimited efficiency is tantamount to placing an appreciable limitationupon the number of individual winding stations that can be economicallyserviced by a single servicing unit.

' It is, therefore, a more specific object of my invention to provideservice-operation control means that secure a more economicalperformance by permitting only those servicing actions 'tobe performedas are necessary at a time.

Another more specific object is to have the individualservice-operations performed independently of one another but in such amanner that they cannot take place simultaneously and hence cannotinterfere with each other.

Relating to the above-mentioned objects of improved accessibility andreduced space requirements, it is a fea-: ture of my invention to mountthe mobile tender and the feeder device for the yarn supply coils onopposite sides respectively of the yarn path extending in each windingstation between the supply coil and the take-up spool. In such a machinethe yarn remains freely accessible, the mobile tender and the feederdevice do not interfere with each other, and the winding machine can'begiven a more compact design. This is of particular advantage in caseswhere new supply coils are furnished to the winding station from amagazine that accommodates a number of reserve coils, or where thesupply coils are fed to the stations by means of an endless belt. Themobile tender is preferably located on the rear side of the yarn path,whereas the coil feeder means are located in front where the yarn isaccessible to the attendant personnel.

According to another feature of my invention, the space requirements ofthe machine are minimized by mounting the components of each individualwinding station on a supporting frame or arm structure whose nansversecross section has a center line. of folded or curved shape, similar tothe shape of a 7, S or Z. With such a design, the magazine or otherfeeder means for the supply coils can be located, at least partially, inthe area near the lower portion of the curved shape, whereas the mobiletender is made to travel inthe upper angle or bight space, and thecomponents for winding the takeup spools, such as the take-up spoolholder, yarn guide and winder drive, are mounted on the upper curved,

portion of the structure. With such a design, the space directly beneaththe forwardly protruding yarn guiding drum remains vacant so that theyarn seeking or gripping device of the mobile tender can swing beneaththe yarnguiding drum up to the take-up spool in order to entrain theyarn end therefrom. Another gripper, turning in a different direction,then seeks and entrains the yarn end-- of the supply coil, whereafterboth yarn ends are tied together in the knotter of the tender.

According to another feature of my invention the ahove-mentionedsupporting arm structure of each individual winding, station with allstation components mounted thereon, is removable from the main framestructure of themulti-station machine without requiring removal orchange of any parts needed for continued winding operation of the otherwinding stations. The individually removable arm structure may form abox for protection of the components mounted Within it, and ispreferably narrow in comparison with its horizontal depth, occupying notmore than one-half of the width or mutual center spacing of anindividual winding station measured in the longitudinal direction of themultistation machine.

The individual supporting arm structures of the respective windingstations are preferably fastened to a top carrier which extends abovethe track for the mobile tender and from which the arm structuresprotrude toward the front of the machine and then downwardly so as toform approximately a one-quarter circle with a down wardly extendedoutrigger portion. The components accessible from the front, includingthe yam-guiding drum, the drive shaft for the drum, and the journallingframe for the take-up spool, are preferably mounted in or on the upperportion of the supporting arm structure, whereas the control componentsto be acted upon by the mobile tender are disposed in the lower portionof the arm structure. If desired, a manually actuable control member mayalso be mounted on the outer side of the lower arm portion.

According to still another feature of my invention, the machine isprovided with two parallel drive shaftscommon to all winding stationsand running continuously in mutually opposed directions, and eachwinding station has a coupling roller normally driven from one shaft forrotating the take-up spool in the winding sense but temporarilyengageable with the other shaft for reversing the take-up spool wheneverits yarn end is to. be unwound for tying it together with the yarncoming from the supply coil. More specifically, the coupling roller ismounted on the above-mentioned arm structure of each winding station sothat removal of the structure has the effect of uncoupling the stationfrom the common winder drive without affecting the other windingstations.

According to a further feature of my invention, the Winding operation ineach winding station is continually checked by a reciprocating checkingmotion which controls a movable member to periodically enter into thedeflecting path of the yarn-absence responsive yarn guard in order tosense Whether or not the guard has responded, and which, when thusencountering the responded yarn guard in deflected in position, acts asa force relay to displace a control member which stops the winding operation inthe affected station and prepares it for-servicing by the. mobiletender. According to another feature, morespecific thanthe, onev lastmentioned, the periodic checking motion is produced in each station; byan oscillating control shaft which is common to a group or all offroinfinterfering with any servicing operationof the tender, andaccording to anotherfeature of the invention,

the tender is provided with means that temporarily put thenormallyoscillating devices of an individual winding stationoutof operationyaslong. as the tenderisqin the vicinity of that station, withoutdisturbing the action of the oscillating control shaft upon the otherstations.

The mentioned movable control member for controlling the winder driveand preparing a stopped winding station for servicing by the tender ispreferably also feed-back controllable by the tender itself and, ifdesired, is also controllable manually. According to another, morespecific feature this control member, hereinafter referred to as maincontrol member, is pivotally mounted and capable of difierent amounts ofpivotal-deflection under controlby respectively different sensing orchecking means, and thus acts to release respectively different controlor servicing operations in the winding station and/ or in the mobiletender, depending upon the amount of pivotal deflection. Due to suchdiscriminating control performance of the main control member it selectsthe servicing operation first to be performed or selects only one ofthevarious operations of which the winding station and tender are capable.

As explained, the main control member is controlled by the yarn guardwhich engages the yarn during windingv operation and responds to absenceof yarn due to yarn breakage or depletion of the supply coil. However,according to another feature of my invention, the same main controlmember is also connected with, and con trolled by, a sensing means whichresponds to the change in diameter of the yarn package being built up onthe takeup spool, and which, when the package is filled, deflects themain control member for causing it to stop the winding operation. Thespool-diameter responsive means may further act to shift the maincontrol member to a position in which the yarn-engaging guard is lockedin position of normal winding operation.

It is further preferable to provide the spool-diameter.

responsive sensing means with-a signal which indicates that the take-upspool is completed and that the attendant is to manually exchange thetake-up spool for an empty core. ,After exchange, the locking of theyarn guard must be eliminated which can be done manually, for example byactuating a pushbutton, or by automatic means. The invention, of course,is also applicableto machines in which the exchange of the take-up spoolis effected automatically under control by the above-mentioneddiameter-responsive sensing means.

It is another feature of the invention to provide the machine withperiodic control means which, during Winding operation, intermittentlydisengage the winder drive from the take-up spool to permit stopping thespool or manually modifying its operation in the short idle intervals bymeans of only slight controlling force. Preferably the abovementionedreciprocating checking motion is additionally used for oscillating themain control member an amount too slight for stopping or reversing thewinder drive or initiating any servicing operation of the tender butsufficient to intermittently disengage the intermediate coupling rollerfrom the common Winder drive of the machine.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of my inventionwill be apparent from, and will be described in, the following withreference to the embodiment illustrated by way of example on theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of a multistation windingmachine according to the invention, some of 'the components beingomitted for the purpose of a more lucid illustration.

FIG. 2 is a schematic and fragmentary front view of the same windingmachine.

FIG. 3 illustrates schematically the relationship between some of thecomponents shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, together with further componentsomitted in the preceding figures.

The illustrated machine comprises lateral frame structures 1 (FIGS. 1,2) which are rigidly joined with a tubular carrier beam 2 extendingalong the top of the machine,

another tubular beam 3 which forms a runway for the mobile servicingunit described below, and a likewise tubular rail 4. The tubularstructures 2, 3 and 4 extend horizontally parallel to each other alongall individual coil winding stations of the machine. Fastened to thetubular top beam 2 at each individual winding station is a rigid arm 5of arcuate shape which is preferably designed as a box structure andextends from beam 2 forward and downward. The lower end of arm structure5 carries a tubular sleeve 6 which is joined with beam 3 by a bracket 7.

A control shaft 8, which during operation of the machine continuouslyturns a given angle forward and back, extends parallel to the top beam 2between the lateral frame structures of the machine. Aside from beingjournalled at its ends, the oscillating shaft may also be supported inbearings between the individual winding stations, such as at In (FIG.2), depending upon the length of the shaft. Firmly mounted on shaft 8 ateach winding station is an entrainer 9 which is joined by a spring 10with a swing arm 11 rotatably seated on shaft 5 and normally held by aspring 10 against a stop 9a of the entrainer 9. During the oscillatorymovement of shaft 8 and entrainer 9, the arm 11 is normally free to becarried along for the actuation of testing means described below.

The machine is provided with a mobile tender 13 which has two pairs ofrunning wheels 12a, 12b seated upon the track formed by the tubular beam5. If desired, one of the running wheels of each pair may be maderemovable by giving it a stuck-in axle, thus facilitating the removal orinsertion of the tender. Journalled on the lower bifurcated end of thetender 13 are guide rollers 13a and 13b which rest against oppositesides of the guide rail 4 thus maintaining the tender in proper positionduring its travel. During operation of the machine, the tender 13travels along the individual winding stations from a starting positionto an end position and then returns to the starting position, and soforth; and is temporarily arrested in front of any one winding stationthat may require servicing at the time. The means for driving the tender13 along the track beam are not illustrated and described herein becausethey are not essential to the present invention proper and may beidentical with those illustrated and described in the copendingapplication of S. Fiirst and M. Riihl, Serial No. 796,049, filedFebruary 27, 1959.

The travel of the tender 13 is automatically stopped in the properservicing position relative to a winding station by means of a latch rod14a (FIG. 1) whose latch end enters into a recess 14b of the track beam3. In this position, the yarn-end seizing devices of the tender 13,preferably consisting of air suction nozzles as shown at 13c and 13d inFIG. 2, can operate under control by a start-stop cam mechanism 55 tosuctionally entrain the yarn end of the take-up spool and the yarn endof the supply coil and to place both into the action range of a knottingdevice 13c which ties both ends together similarly to the device ofapplication Serial No. 796,049, referred to above.

A winder drive shaft 15, continuously rotating during operation of themachine, extends above arm structure 5 in parallel relation to the axisof the top beam 2 and carries at each individual winding station afriction roller 16. Located beneath arm 5 is another drive shaft 17which likewise rotates continuously during operation of the machine, butin a direction opposed to that of the shaft 15. Shaft 17 carries at eachindividualwinding station a friction roller 18. The two shafts 15 and 17are journalled in the lateral frame structures of the machineindependently of the carrier arms 5. If necessary, the shafts 15 and 17may also be supported by bearings on other locations, for example at in,between two winding stations. Each carrier arm 5, after loosening a pairof screw bolts of which one is shown at 19 (FIG. 1)

can be removed from the top beam 2 without loosening or changing anypart required for the continued operation of the other winding stations.

A frame 20 is pivotally mounted at 20a on arm 5 and forms a journal atZtlb for the take-up spool 21 of the winding station. Also journalled onarm 5 is a yarn guiding drum 22 with a drum shaft 22a. A three-armedlever 23 is pivoted at 23a to the carrier arm 5 and is connected by alink 24 with an intermediate friction roller 25. When lever 23 is in theposition shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate roller 25 couples thefrictionroller 16 on shaft 15 with the guiding drum 22. The take-upspool 21, gravity biased against the periphery of drum 22, is thenentrained in the winding-up direction, and the guiding groove 22b (FIG.2) extending about the periphery of the guiding drum and forming a loopclosed upon itself, reciprocates the incoming yarn back and forth alongthe take-up spool, thus producing the desired cross-wound yarn package.

When the lever 2.3 is turned counterclockwise about its pivot 23a (FIG.1), the intermediate roller 25 is removed from roller 16 and insteadplaced in coupling engagement with the reversely driven roller 18 sothat now the guiding drum 22 and the entrained take-up spool 21 rotatein the unwinding direction. This is done only temporarily whenever it isnecessary to unwind a certain length of yarn from the take-up spool forthe purpose of tying the yarn together with that coming from the supplycoil, as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The carrier arm'5 is further provided with fixed bearings 26a, 26b inwhich a vertical pivot shaft 27 is mounted. A fork member 28 of angularshape is pivoted on shaft 27 and straddles the drum shaft 22a. (FIG. 1)has its shaft 23a fastened to the outrigger carrier arm 5. A nose 2312(FIG. 3) on the carrier arm 5 supports the pivot shaft 23a. A portion 29of member 28, extending at a right angle to the bifurcated portion, isconnected by a link 30 with a mechanism, described below, which causesthe member 28 to reciprocate parallel to the axis of the drum shaft 22a.During such reciprocation, the bifurcated portion of member 23 displacesthe drum shaft 22a with drum 22 in the axial direction slightly towardthe right or left (relative to FIG. 2 thus periodically displacing thereversing points of the guiding groove 22b for better distributing thewinding turns on the yarn package being produced and avoiding patternwind.

The arm structure 5 further carries a main control lever 31 which isbiased by a spring 49 for clockwise motion about a pivot 32. Alsomounted on arm structure 5 is a latch member 33 pivoted at 33a andbiased by a spring, 34 for engagement of its latch arm 35 with a catchrecess 36 of control lever 31.

Pivoted at 37a to the lower end of arm structure 5 is a yarn guard 37which is normally biased into feeling engagement with the yarn 'F comingfrom the supply coil C and passing over the guiding drum 22 onto thetake-up spool 21. In the event of yarn breakage or when the supply coilC is exhausted, the guard 37 responds to the absence of yarn by turningclockwise into the position schematically shown at 37b (FIG. 1). As willbe further explained below, such deflection of the yarn guard has theeffect of stopping the winding operation of the winding station andcausing the tender 13, uponits next passage, to become arrested at thewinding station and to reestablish proper winding conditions. I

The tube 6 attached to the lower end of arm structure 5, carries at itsbottom a holder 38 for accommodating the above-mentioned yarn-supplycoil C, such as a spinning cop. As shown in FIG. 1, holder 38 has abobbin peg 38 on which coil C is supported. An arm 38a of holder 38 islinked through elements 38b, 38c, 33d to escapement lock 38c, so thatactuation of holder 38 to rotate bobbin peg 38 causes escapement lock38e to release a full coil 30 from the magazine 39. The cop is The leverarm 23 supplied to the holder 33 from the magazine 39 through a chute 40which forms a slideway for an individual coil issued at a time from themagazine. Magazine 39 and chute 40-are attached to the frame structure1, in the position shown in FIG. 1. The removal of a depleted coil C iseffected, for example by control devices as derscribed and illustratedin my co-pending application Serial No. 704,983, filed December 24,1957, and Serial No. 728,139 filed April 4, 1958, both assigned to theassignee of the present invention.

A horizontal pusher rod 41 links one arm of drive control member 23 withthe main control lever 31. The main control lever 31 is furtherconnected by an intermediate spring 43 and another pusher rod 42 with abrake shoe 44. When control lever 31 is turned a snificient amountcounterclockwise, the brake shoe 44 places itself against theyarn-guiding drum 22 for stopping its rotation.

The brake 44 (FIG. 1) remains applied when the intermediate roller 25engages the rollers 18 and 22. With this engagement of roller 25 withrollers 18 and 22, the spool 21 is turned in the reverse direction tosome extent, so that the end ofthe wound-up yarn can be seized andconveyed to the knotting device. This reverse rotation is et'tected'inopposition to the braking action of the brake 44. However, the brakingaction of brake 44 is not so stronglyeiiective as to prevent a rotationof the roller 22,

but isonly called upon to shorten the coasting time of this roller whenthe machine is brought to a standstill. When this roller 22 is turned inthe reverse direction by roller 18 acting through the roller 25, thisreverse rotation can, therefore, take place in opposition to the brakingefiect of the brake 44. This has the advantage that the roller will stopimmediately as soon as the reverse rotation is terminated. Suchimmediate stopping of roller 22 is necessary because the knottingoperation is already commenced by the end of the reverse rotation. Ifthe roller 22 were not stopped by the brake 44 but, during reverserotation would continue to run an additional extent, then the yarnpulledfrom the take-up spool would not remain taut but would become slack.

Pivoted to the lower end of main control lever 31 is a bell'crank lever45 to which a reciprocating movement is imparted by a linking rod 46that passes through the tube 6. This reciprocating motion is transmittedfrom the oscillating control shaft 8 and the sensing arm 11 onto a lugat the lower end of rod 46 and takes place whenever, and as long as, theswing arm 11 is free to participate in the oscillation of the entrainer9, this being the case when the'tender 13 is not located at the windingstation. The oscillatory motion of swing arm 11, rod 46 and bell-cranklever 45 ceaseswhen a wheel 67 on the approaching tender forces theswing lever 11 counterclockwise out of engagement with the entrainerstop 9a, this condition being shown in FIG. 1.

The linking rod 46 is acted upon by the dog member or swing arm 11which, during operation of the machine is kept reciprocating on itsshaft 8 for the purpose of imparting to the lever 45 an oscillatingmotion serving to test the operating condition of the winding stationand, as the case may be, to effect the stoppage of the winding operationin the station upon occurrence of yarn breakageor supply-coil depletionor completion of a yarn package on the take-up spool.

During-operation of the machine, the shaft 8 (FIGS. 1, 2) iscontinuously reciprocated, as previously mentioned, through a givenangle, by means of a crank at the end of shaft 8, which crank iseccentrically connected to a motordriven gear in a known manner. Asshaft 8 rocks back and forth, the swing arm or dog 11 rocks with it. Rod46, which normally rests on dog 11, is thus longitudinally oscillated bydog 11 and transmits this oscillating motion to the lever 45 (FIG. 1).

The right arm 47 of bell-crank lever 45 forms at its end a lug 48 which,when the yarn guard 37 is in position of normal operation, can catchbehind the arm 370 of the yarn-guard whenever, during theabove-mentioned oscillating movement of lever 45 about its pivot 45a,the arm 47 is in lowermost position. However, when the yarn guard 37 isdeflected to the position 37b due to breakage or absence of yarn, thelug 48, during its clockwise stroke will place itself upon the tip ofthe arm 37c. This has the result that during the oscillating motionimparted to lever 45 by rod 46, a pushing force is exerted by lever arm47 upon the lower end of the main control lever 31 with the effect ofturning the control lever 31 counterclockwise in opposition to thebiasing spring 49. This releases the pawl arm 35 of latch member 33 fromthe catch recess 36 of control lever 31. Consequently, the control lever31 remains deflected in the counterclockwise direction until, at a latertime, the control lever 31 is pushed back to the original position.

The just-mentioned counterclockwise motion of the main control lever 31from the illustrated to the relieved position is, in turn, impartedthrough the linking rod 41 to the drive control lever 23 which now movesthe intermediate friction roller 25 away from the forward driving roller16. The drum 22 now runs idle and is stopped by the brakeshoe. Onlylittle braking force is required because the brake is never called uponto be active when the drum is coupled with the winder drive. Duringsubsequent counterclockwise motion of drive control lever 23, thecoupling roller 25 is placed into engagement with the reversing roller18. This causes the guiding drum 22 to rotate in the unwinding directionin order to expose a sufficient length of yarn from the take-up spool asrequired for the seizing and knotting of the yarnends. Thejust-mentioned further motion of lever 23, however, comes about byoperation of the tender 13, as will be explained.

While in the above-described event of breakage or absence of yarn thebell-crank lever 45 entrains the main control lever 31 for a relativelylarge amount of pivotal motion about pivot 32, the continuousreciprocation imparted to the bell-crank lever 45 by rod 46 operatesduring normal winding operation to impart a much smaller amount ofpivotal motion to the same lever 31. This continuous reciprocation oflever 31 is too short for releasing the latch member 33 but suflices fortemporarily moving the coupling roller 25 a slight distance away fromthe forward driving roller 15 and the yarn guiding drum 22. Suchintermittent and short-lasting disconnection of the yarn guiding drum 22from the drive permits imposing upon this drum or upon the take-up spoolor other components of the winding station a modifying control manual oradjustment with the aid of only slight controlling force.

The tender 13, when passing by an individual winding station, must checkwhether the winding operation in that station is still in good order.For the purpose of such checking, a horizontal tappet 50 is linked tothe latch member 33 and carries an extension 51. If, due to breakage orabsence of yarn in the winding station, the latch member 33 is turnedclockwise about its pivot 33a in the manner described above, the tappet50 moves toward the right and enters into the travelling range of aswitch arm 52 which is pivotally mounted on the housing struc: ture ofthe tender 13 and is normally in the illustrated: upright position. Whenthe tender 13 approaches a winding station in which the tappet 50 .haspreviously shifted to the right, the switch arm 52 is engaged by thepro-- truding end of the tappet and is turned in one or the otherdirection depending upon whether the tender 13 arrives from the left orright (relating to FIG. 2). Thedefiecting motion of switch arm 52 istransmitted by a crank 52a and a spring 53 to a latch pawl 54 which thenmoves clockwise about its pivot 54a into the dot-anddash position. Thislowers the rod 14a so that its stop end will engage the recess 14!) ofthe track structure 3.

9 at the moment when the tender 13 is properly positioned in front ofthe winding station.

The downward motion of pawl 54 due to the deflection of switch arm 52from its normal, position has the further effect of releasing theservicing mechanisms 55 of the tender 13 for a single cycle ofoperation. The servicing mechanisms comprise a control shaft 56 whichcarries a number of coaxial cam discs located one behind the other inthe axial direction and cooperating with respective cam followers, suchas those denoted by 58, 61 and 64. The cam shaft 56 is connected with aseparate drive (further described in application Serial No. 728,139)which tends to rotate the cam shaft counter clockwise, but such rotationis possible only after the pawl 54 has moved to releasing position. Oneof the cam discs is provided with a peripherally elongated camprojection 57 acting upon the follower lever 58. The follower motion oflever 58 is transmitted by a tappet 59 to the drive control lever 23.This has the effect of engaging the coupling roller 25 with the reversedriving roller 18. As explained, this causes the yarn guiding drum 22 toturn in the unwinding direction for a limited interval of time dependingupon the length of the traveling cam projection 57 in the servicingmechanism 55 of the tender. As a result, a certain length of yarn,previously wound upon the take-up spool 21, is unwound and laid bare sothat it can be seized by the yarn seeking and knotting devices 13c, 13a,13:; (FIG. 2) which form part of the servicing mechanism and arecontrolled by other cams of cam shaft 56. The control means for theseservicing devices may correspond to those illustrated and described inmy co-pending applications Serial No. 704,983, filed December 24, 1957,and Serial No. 728,139, filed April 14, 1958.

At the end of the servicing operations, a cam projection 69 acts uponthe cam follower 61 pivoted at 61a and causes lifting of a tappet 62.The tappet acts upon the arm 370 of the yarn guard 37 and returns to itsposition for normal winding operation. Shortly thereafter, another camprojection 63 acts upon the follower 64 which moves a tappet 65 to theleft and thus pushes the projection 51 of tappet 50 toward the left, forreturning the latch member 53 to its illustrated latching position. Thispermits the main control lever 31 to follow the force of its biasingspring 49 and to turn to the normal operating position in which thecontrol lever 31 remains latched by latch member 33. The windingstation, free of any yarn fault, is now capable of continuing the normalwinding operation. In the meantime, the servicing mechanisms haveterminated a single cycle of operation, and the cam shaft 56 is againarrested in the illustrated position by pawl 54 catching into recess 66.This has the effect of lifting the stop rod 14a out of the recess 14b intrack beam 3, and the tender 13- can continue its travel toward the nextfollowing winding station.

As the tender 13 travels past an individual winding station, the roller67 journalled on the housing structure of the tender engages the swinglever 11 in that particular station and turns it counterclockwise, thusdisengaging it from the stop 9a of entrainer 9. Thus, the swing arm 11and the connecting rod 46 remain at rest while the tender is travelingby a winding station or is stopped in front of the station.Consequently, during the abovementioned servicing operations of thetender, initiated by fault-responsive deflection of the yarn guard 37,the bellcrank lever 45 is at rest, and any undesired control action thatmay otherwise be caused by the oscillations of swing arm 11 isprevented. The oscillating movement of swing arm 11 ceases some timebefore the tender reaches the winding station and is resumed only afterthe tender has left that station. Thereafter, the oscillating shaft 8 isagain capable of producing the desired checking operation so that, ifthe winding operation in the station becomes faulty or interrupted, thetake-up spool automatically It arrested and the station is prepared forservicing by the tender 13 upon its next arrival.

vWhen during winding operation, the yarn package on take-up spool 21 hasreached a predetermined diameter,

and the journalling frame 20 is lifted away from guide drum 22 acorresponding distance, a damper rod 102 cooperating with an hydraulicdamping cylinder 102a (FIG. 3) is likewise lifted. The cylinder 29x iscarried on a support 111212 of the arm structure 5. A shoulder disc 103firmly secured to rod 102 then permits a lever 104, pivoted at 104a, tomove counterclockwise under the biasing force of a spring 10% to aposition in which a segment 105, likewise pivoted at 104a, is entrainedto follow the pivotal movement in the clockwise direction. The segment105 is connected with the lever 1fi4 by a biasing spring and has a slottraversed by a stop pin 1040 of lever 104. A lever 196 pivoted at 106ato a nose 106s of the arm structure 5 and biased by a spring 1061) forcounterclockwise motion, normally rests against the circular peripheryof the segment 105. However, when segment 105, entrained by the stop104s of lever 104, reaches the position illustrated'in FIG. 3, the lever106 is released and snaps counterclockwise to the illustrated position.This causes a pushbutton 128 to protrude out of the surface of the armstructure 5 thus signalling to the attendant that the yarn package ontake-up spool 21 is completed.

When due to lifting of the journalling frame 20 the lever snaps to theillustrated position as described above, a lug 109 formed by anextension 107 of lever 196 catches beneath the bell-crank lever 45 andlocks it in position. Now the lug 48 of lever arm 47 is held arrested sothat the connecting rod 46 (FIGS. 3, l) is kept in lifted position andno longer continues to follow the reciprocating motion of the swinglever 11. This stops the reciprocating motion of the horizontalconnecting rod 41 and of the drive control lever 23. The intermediatecoupling roller 25, therefore, is kept in the inactive position shown inFIG. 3. The yarn guard 37 is kept arrested by the lug 48, and latchmember 33 with tappet 50 are retained in the illustrated position (FIG.3). Now the winding station is at standstill with driving roller 16disconnected from the guiding drum 22.

At this stage, the yarn guard 37 cannot move from the position which itoccupies during normal winding operation, although the winder drive isnow stopped. Such locking of the yarn guard prevents untimely servicingoperations by the tender; that is, while a completed yarn package isbeing exchanged for a new spool core, the resulting reduction in yarntension would otherwise make the yarn guard respond and initiate aknotting operation despite such operation being unnecessary at thatstage and apt to interfere with the proper exchange of the take-upspool. After the full take-up spool 21 is replaced by an empty spoolcore, the attendant depresses the pushbutton 128. This returns the lever106 into engagement with the periphery of segment 105 so that theabove-described stopping and locking actions are terminated. Theextension 107 then withdraws the lug 109 from the bell-crank lever 45.The damper rod 102 drops together with the journalling frame 20, and thewinding operation is resumed.

As explained, the main control lever 31 can assume the following threedifferent positions which cause it to perform respectively differentcontrol actions.

First position: during normal operation of the yarn guiding drum 22 forproducing the cross-wound package on the take-up spool 21, the maincontrol lever 31 occupies the position illustrated in FIG. 1. In thisposition, a driving connection is maintained between the drive shaft 16through coupling roller 25 to the guiding drum 22.

However, due to the above-described oscillating motion of relativelyslight amplitude continuously imparted to the control lever 31, thecontrol lever moves intermittently toward the position illustrated inFIG. 3, so that the coupling roller 25 is periodically disengaged fromthe driving roller 16 for a short interval of time in order to preventpatterning of the yarn package and permit stopping or otherwisecontrolling the winding operation by an only slight controlling force.

Second position: the position of main control lever 31 shown in FIG. 3is permanently established when the take-up spool 21 being wound reachesthe desired diameter. In this position of lever 51, the coupling roller25 is kept away from the driving roller 16 and the drum 22, and thewinding operation is stopped until the completed yarn package is removedand an empty spool core is substituted manually or automatically.

Third position: in this position of main control lever 31, its lower armis shifted farther toward the right and its upper arm farther toward theleft than shown in FIG. 3. Now the latch arm 35 of member 33 can snapdownwardly out of the recess 36. Tappet St? is pushed toward the rightand can actuate the switch arm 52 of the tender 13 to initiate theyarn-end seeking and knotting operations in the manner described above.When control lever 31 passes from second position (FIG. 3') to thirdposition, the connecting rod 41 turns the drive control lever 23clockwise so thatthe coupling roller 25 is placed in ready positionclose to the reverse driving roller 18 but does not enter into contacttherewith. Such contact engagement is established subsequently byactuation of the tappet 59 in tender 13 (FIG. 1) and has the effect ofturning the take-up spool in the reverse direction for the purpose of ayarn seeking and knotting operation.

It will be apparent that the main control will stop the winder drive insecond position as well as in third position, namely whenever the yarnguard responds to absence of yarn or the take-up spool is filled, but ineach case the control lever discriminates by its amount of deilectionbetween the causes of stoppage and initiates the then proper servicingoperation. By virtue of such a combined control with the aid of a singlecentralized control member, and due to the connection of that memberwith the coupling means for connecting the guiding drum with the forwardand reverse drives, a relatively simple and reliable construction of themachine is achieved. A further simplification is due to the 'fact thatthe main control member also operates as a periodic checking device thuspermitting a reduction in the number of necessary components.

Indicated in FIG. 1 by a dot-and-dash line M is the curved andessentially 7-shaped center line of a winding station.- While the lowerportion of center line M is to some extent arbitrarily shown, it isessential that, in any event, the magazine 39 and the tender 13 arecated'on opposite sides of the center line M or on opposite sides of theyarn path extending from the supply coil C through a yarn tensioner T tothe guiding drum 22 and onto the take-up spool 21. This affords arelatively simple and reliable construction of the tender as Well as ofthe winding station. Due' to the curvature of the center line M, arelatively long path is available along which the control components ofthe winding station and the running yarn, as well as any broken yarnends, are conveniently accessible. On one side of a windingstation, thetender can act upon the components or the yarn of the station. On theopposite side, and partly beneath the control components, there remainsample space for the storing and conveying of new yarn-supply coils, andthe winding station is conveniently accessible to the attendingpersonnel. Relatively little space is required for installing themachine; and since the tender is located behind all yarn paths, it canreadily be taken out of the winding machine on the rear side thereof,for inspection or repair. With'a large number of individual windingstations combined in a single machine, it is also possible to providetwo or-three simultaneously operating tenders with separate or mutuallyoverlapping working ranges, such tenders being well accessible from therear of the machine while the winding stations'remain equally wellaccessible from the front.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art, upon a. study of thisdisclosure, that my invention is not limited to the particular machinedesign illustrated anddescribed herein, but permits of variousmodifications as well as its use with multi-station machines and mobileservicing units of different type and design, without departing from theessential features of my invention and Within the scope of the claimsannexed hereto.

I claim:

1. A yarn-package winding machine, comprising a rigid' machine framestructure, a-number of individually operative winding stations spacedfrom each other along said structure and having respective supportsfastened to saidstructure, said supports having respective top portionsextending transversely away from said structure downwardly from said topportions and formingtogether therewith a-bight space extendinglongitudinally of said structure, each of said winding stations havingyarn-winding.

means mounted on said support and defining a yarn path upwardly alongsaid support, and each station having condition-responsive means mountedon said support for checking the winding operation, a tender movable insaid.

bight space along said winding stations and being arrestable at each ofsaid winding stations for eliminating:

stoppage conditions therein, a main control member pivotally mounted ineach Winding station and defiectable under control by saidcondition-responsive means, said main control member being linked tosaid winding means for controlling it to stop when said control memberis de-' flected, tender control means mounted on said support andmovable into the travel path of said tender due to deflection of saidmain control means, whereby said tender is arrested when thereafterarriving at the winding station, said tender having a resetting meanslinked'with said main control member when said arrested tender completes its operation, whereby said main control member is reset to startsaid winding means.

2. In a winding machine according to claim 1, saidwinding means in eachstation comprising a winder drive having a coupling member journalled onsaid support, a' drive shaft extending along said winding stations andhaving transmission means engageable by said respective coupling membersfor operating said winder drives, said supports beingindividuallyremovable from said machine frame structure, and said driveshaft being journalled on said structure independently of said supports,wherebyeach winding station can be removed without affecting.

portion merging with said front portion by an arcuately.

curved shape of said support corresponding generally to one-quartercircle, said yarn-winding means comprisinga take-up spool frame and arotatable guiding drum whichare both mounted on said top portion andaccessible from the front of the machine, and said condition-responsivemeans comprising parts mounted on said front portion.

and extending rearwardly into said bight space so as to be engageablewith said tender.

5. A yarn-package winding machine, comprising a rigid machine framestructure, a number of individually operative winding stationshorizontally spaced from each other along said structure, each of saidstations having a supplycoil holder and a take-up winder above saidholder, 21" yarn guard mounted in each station between said holder andsaid winder and deflectable in response to absence of yarn, a fixedtrack extending horizontally along said winding stations, a tendermovable on said track and having stop means for arresting thetender'at'a selected winding station and servicing means for eliminatingstoppage conditions in said winding station, said tender having astart-stop control mechanism for jointly controlling said stop means andsaid servicing means, a release control member movably mounted on saidtender and connected with said mechanism to release it for one cycle ofstartstop operation, a main control member pivotally mounted in eachwinding station and deflectable under control by response of said yarnguard, said main control member being coupled with said winder forstopping said winder when said main control member is deflected, eachwinding station having tender control means coupled with said maincontrol member to move into the travel path of said release controlmember when said main control member is deflected, said start-stopmechanism of said tender having two resetting devices operative near theend of said cycle to engage said tender control means and said yarnguard respectively for resetting them to normal positions, whereby saidmain control member is reset to start said winder.

6. A winding machine according to claim 5, comprising a guide railextending beneath said track in parallel relation thereto and beingengageable by said tender for maintaining it in proper position duringtravel along said track, said track and said rail comprising respectivetubular members and forming part of said machine frame structure.

7. A yarn-package winding machine, comprising a rigid machine framestructure, a number of individually operable winding stations spacedfrom each other along said structure, a tender movable along said numberof sta tions and selectively engageable therewith for eliminatingstoppage conditions therein, each of said winding stations comprisingyarn-winding means having a controllable coupling member, a drive shaftextending along said winding stations and having transmission meansengageable by said respective coupling members for operating saidyarn-winding means, each of said stations having a condition-responsivemain control device connected with said coupling member and having anormal position in which said member engages said transmission means,said control device being movable in response to winding irregularity insaid station to another position for disengaging said coupling memberfrom said transmission means to thereby stop said winding means, each ofsaid stations having normally inactive tender control means connectedwith said main control device and displaceable into the travel path ofsaid tender due to movement of said control device to said otherposition for causing said tender to operate when next arriving at saidstation, and oscillating means connected with said coupling member undercontrol by said control device for periodically disengaging saidcoupling member from said transmission means when said control device isin said normal position, whereby said winding means when in operationare intermittently disconnected from said drive shaft.

8. A yarn-package Winding machine, comprising yarnpackage winder means,drive means continuously rotating when the machine is in operation, acontrollable coupling member for coupling said winder with said drivemeans, first sensing means responsible to absence of yarn ahead of saidwinder means, second sensing means responsive to completion of the yarnpackage wound by said winder means, a control member connected with saidcoupling member and having a normal position in which said couplingmember engages said drive means for normal winding operation, saidcontrol member being movable under control by said first and secondsensing means away from said normal position to disengage said couplingmember from said drive means due to response of either one of saidsensing means, and oscillatory drive means connected with said couplingmember under control by said control member for intermittentlydisengaging said coupling member from said drive means when said controlmember is in said normal position, whereby said winder whenin operationreceives intermittent driving torque from said drive means.

9. In a winding machine according to claim 7, said oscillating meanscomprising a rotationally oscillating control shaft extending alongsaidnumber of winding stations in parallel to said drive shaft.

10. In a winding machine according to claim 7, said oscillating meanscomprising a rotationally oscillating control shaft extending parallelto said drive shaft, along said number of winding stations, saidyarn-winding means of each station having a take-up spool and ayarn-guiding drum for peripherally entraining said spool, said drumbeing axially displaceable along said spool, and drum displacing meansconnected with said oscillating control shaft under control by said maincontrol device for axially reciprocating said drum during windingoperation.

11. In a winding machine according to claim 7, said yarn winding meansof each station having a take-up spool and a yarn guiding drum forperipherally entraining said spool, a brake engageable with said drum,and connecting means between said brake and said main control device foractuating said brake when said control device moves to said otherposition.

12. A yarn-package Winding machine, comprising a number of individuallyoperable winding stations horizontally spaced from each other, a tendermovable along said number of stations and selectively engageabletherewith for eliminating stoppage conditions therein, each of saidwinding stations comprising yarn winding means and a yarn guarddeflectable in response to absence of yarn, each station having acontrollable drive for actuating said winding means and a pivotallymounted main control member connected with said drive and having a firstposition in which said drive is active and a second position in whichsaid drive is inactive, a lever pivoted on said main control member at apoint spaced from the pivot point of said latter member, a rotationallyoscillating control shaft extending along said stations and linked tosaid lever in each station for imparting oscillatory movement thereto,said lever having an arm engageable with said yarn guard only when saidguard is defiected due to absence of yarn whereby said oscillatorymovement causes said main control member to deflect to said secondposition for stopping said winding means.

13. In a winding machine according to claim 12, each winding stationcomprising a latch member normally engaging said main control lever tohold it in said first position, said latch member having a biasingspring and being releasable from said main control member to be moved bysaid spring when said main control member is deflected to said secondposition, and a displaceable tender control member normally in inactiveposition and linked to said'latch member so as to be displaced into thetravel path of said tender due to said spring-biased movement of saidlatch member, said tender having a control part engageable by saiddisplaced'tender control member for causing said tender to operate whennext arriving at said tender control member.

14. In a winding machine according to claim 12, said drive comprisingtwo shafts extending parallel to each other along said stations andrevolving in mutually opposed directions, and a coupling controlled bysaid main control member to engage and disengage one of said shafts whensaid main control member is in said first and second positionsrespectively, auxiliary control means in each winding station forplacing saidcoupling into engagement with said other shaft to reversesaid yarn winding means, said tender having a service control mechanismfor stopping the tender travel and causing the tender to operate whensaid main control member is in said second position, said mechanismhaving a part temporarily displaceable into engagement with saidauxiliary control means for temporarily reversing said yarn windingmeans.

15. In a winding machine according to claim 12, said tender having astop member for disconnecting the linkage between said oscillating shaftand said lever in each of said stations when said tender is near saidstation.

16. In a winding station according to claim 12, each of said windingstations comprising an entrainer fastened to said oscillating controlshaft and a swing arm having a spring connected with said entrainer fornormally linking said shaft through said swing arm with said lever, andsaid tender having a stop member engageable with said swing arm forstopping it from transmitting oscillatory motion while said tender isnear said station.

17. In a winding machine according to claim 12, each winding stationcomprising a linking rod disposed'between said oscillating control shaftand said lever and axially displaceable to transmit oscillating motiontosaid lever, a fixed tube surrounding said rod, and a supply coilholder mounted on said tube for supplying yarn to said winding means.

18. In a winding machine according to claim 12, said drive comprisingtwo shafts extending parallel to each other along said stations andrevolving in mutually opposed directions, each of said shafts havingrespective friction rollers near each of said winding stations, and anintermediate coupling roller displaceable under control by said maincontrol member to engage and disengage one of said twofriction rollerswhen said main control member is in said first and second positionsrespectively, auxiliary control means in each winding station forplacing said coupling roller into engagement with said other frictionroller, said tender having a service control mechanism for stopping thetender travel and causing the tender to operate when said main controlmember is in said second position, and said mechanism having a parttemporarily displaceable into engagement with said auxiliary controlmeans for temporarily reversing saidyarn winding means.

19. A yarn-package winding machine, comprising a rigid machine framestructure, a number of individually operable winding stations spacedfrom each other along said structure, a tender movable along said numberof stations and selectively engageable therewith for eliminatingstoppage conditions therein, each of said winding stations comprisingyarn-winding means and a controllable drive for operating said windingmeans, each station having first sensing means responsive to'absence ofyarn and second sensing means responsive to completion of the yarnpackage Wound, a movable main control member in controlling connectionwith said drive and having a first position in which said drive isactive to operate said winding means, said main control member beingdeflectable a given distance to a second position due to response ofsaid'second sensing means and" being deflectable a larger distance toanother position due to response of said first sensing means, said drivebeing inactive when said main control member is in said second positionand in said other position, and each of said Winding stations havingdisplaceable tender control means controlled by said main control memberto move into the travel path of said tender only when said main controlmember is in said other position whereby said tender is caused to stopits travel and to operate at said station;

20. In a winding machine according to claim 19, each of said windingstations having locking means connected with and controlled by saidsecond sensing means and lockingly engageable with said first sensingmeans for preventing the latter to cause a servicing operation of saidtender When said winding means is stopped in response to completion ofthe yarn package being Wound.

21. A winding machine according to claim 20, comprising signal meansconnected with said second sensing means, and resetting means connectedwith said locking means for unlocking said first sensing means after eX-change of the yarn package.

22. In a winding machine according to claim 19, said winding meanscomprising a yarn-guiding drum, a take-up spool peripherally engageablewith said drum to be entrained thereby, and a pivotally movablejournalling frame for said take-up spool; said second sensing meanscomprising structure linked to said frame for displacement References(Iited in the file of this patent 'UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,045,872Reiners et al June 30, 1936 2,208,930 Kahlisch July 23, 1940 2,338,914Esser et al Jan. ll, 1944

